"I will ask Gamma for help. We will have to try again after the full moon celebration, as he is currently busy coordinating everything and would be unable to assist us at this time."
"I suppose I will have to spend my birthday locked away and far from my loved ones," Luz confessed between sighs and tears.
"When is your birthday?"
"In three days, I'll be 18," she said dejectedly.
"Well, well, that will be just in time for the celebration. That's a good omen. I don't know anyone else whose birthday is on the blue moon full moon. The Goddess must adore you."
Luz grimaced, her face brimming with disbelief.
Aliana noticed and said to her,
"Our people have a deep-rooted belief in the importance of family, and for that you need to find a mate. Without one, your soul is not complete and you will not reach your full potential because your spiritual half is missing."
Aliana continued, "Once the members of a pack reach adulthood, they are ready to find a mate. When they find one, an indelible bond is formed between them, a connection that lasts a lifetime. Their love allows them to never hurt each other. Couples take care of each other and form a family. It is so wonderful that we all eagerly await that moment, finding our partner and mate designated by the goddess Selene. Although you may be lucky enough to find your mate every moon, there are some shape-shifters who, despite reaching adulthood, have not had the goddess's blessing to find them, such as my brother, who is the Alpha of our pack. He has been waiting to find her for a long time. He is already twenty-four years old and his Moon has not yet appeared. He needs her to strengthen his position and leave descendants. I think he has lost hope, but despite that, we urge him to attend every festival, as among so many single females from different packs, she may appear.
"Descendants? So the Moon is just an incubator for children?" Luz asked in surprise.
"No, of course not, don't get me wrong. The mate or 'Moon' of an Alpha is very important to the pack. She supports him in his leadership. She complements the leader and is a necessary requirement for him to do a good job protecting and guiding the pack. When an Alpha bonds with his Moon, they complement each other and become stronger. Once the Alpha marks his mate, they forge a strong bond, sharing their feelings, sensations, and thoughts. This bond also applies to all those who mate.
The Moon is like the mother of the entire pack. She is an extremely important being, which is why it is so urgent to find her; she complements her mate's soul. Without her, he will not be able to maintain enough strength to protect us all in the years to come. The Moon cares about the well-being of each member, coordinates and works. It's not easy being the Moon, just ask Gamma. The poor guy has had to do most of this work and always complains that it's exhausting. I think he's the one most interested in the Moon appearing. He said this last part while laughing.
A werewolf is never complete without his mate, which is why he longs to have her. The celebration always takes place in a different pack, and this year it's our turn to organize it. If you are chosen, the goddess Selene will give you your other half.
"Will you look for your other half at the party?" Luz asks Aliana.
"It's not my turn yet. I'm only fifteen, but I'm just a few years away from turning eighteen, and I eagerly await the Goddess blessing me with love."
"In my world," Luz interrupts, "parents don't want to pair up their eighteen-year-old daughters and sons. They wait until they're at least twenty-five. I even know some who didn't pair up until they were forty, and sometimes their union doesn't work out and they separate."
"By the Goddess! How can they wait so long to find their partner? I think the Goddess must not love them! And they separate! But how, why? If it's so hard to find your partner, how can you separate?" Aliana was horrified.
Luz found this situation amusing, but then a sad thought crossed her mind. Her parents met in their first year of college. They were both 18 when they fell in love, and four years later they got married. Luz thinks that if they were still alive, their love would have kept them together for the rest of their lives.
"What are you thinking about, Luz?" asked the quinceañera, seeing her lost gaze and glassy eyes.
"Nothing."
Aliana continued talking. "Since we can't go back to the forest until after the full moon, we'll take advantage of going out together during the celebration so you can see how beautiful and joyful this party is. I hope Cristian is proud of his creation."
Luz was hesitant, even more so because she was afraid they would hurt her again. Aliana reassured her, assuring her that she would be far away from her attacker and that no one would dare hurt her while she was with her.
The return to the herd's loading house took less time than the walk they had taken, after all, much of the time had been spent with Aliana making detours to distract Luz.
They approached cautiously so as not to be discovered by the sentries. It was funny to see them climb up the rope. One of the sentries spotted them and started laughing. He already knew that Aliana had left the herd. He couldn't make out the other woman clearly, but he didn't bother to sound the alarm. After all, for him it was just one of the many times she had escaped.
Nothing was new. In fact, when the maid entered the room, she saw a note from Aliana that said:
"I'll be back soon, please don't tell anyone." This was already a habit. The maid only warned of her absence when many hours passed without hearing from her, and today the guard at the door didn't even notice she had left.
The girls arrived first, frightened by their adventure, and once inside the room, they began to laugh. At least she was able to make the human happy for a while, Aliana thought.